White Lilies
by Angel in the Morning
Summary: Penelope begins finding mysterious flowers everywhere she goes and fears someone is watching her. Will she turn to Derek and let him save her or will she realize she needs help too late? Rated M for chapters to come.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.

It looked so innocent sitting there in front of her door that Penelope Garcia felt rather silly about the fear it evoked. It wasn't normal. Whose heart quickened in terror, whose pulse raced with horror when they say a simple lily? How sad, she thought to herself.

Why was she driven to such a fright at the sight of an innocuous flower? Because it was the sixth such flower mysteriously left for her in three weeks.

At first, she had imagined that they were simply presents from a secret admirer. The first two flowers were on her car when she left for work. There was easy access to the parking garage for anyone in the FBI. Part of her even thought that maybe it was Kevin trying to win her back. She even thought that they could be from Derek, trying to cheer her up after her breakup. She hadn't even thought twice about the first flowers.

When they started appearing in front of the door to her apartment, Penelope began to get nervous.

The only way to get inside her apartment building was with a key or to be buzzed in by a resident. Kevin and Derek didn't have keys and after she had been shot a few years ago just in front of their door, the residents were extremely cautious about buzzing people into the building.

After the second lily appeared in front of her door, she decided to hack into the building's video surveillance. What she saw sent chills up her spine. She could see the man who left the flower, but he kept his face hidden with his hood each and every time he passed a camera. What bothered her the most was that after he dropped off the flower, he turned to the camera closest to her door and waved. This meant he knew where the cameras were in her building. She didn't even know where all of the cameras were.

And here, yet again, was another flower. She knew hacking the surveillance system would only show the same hooded figure. After each flower in front of her apartment, she had checked and seen the exact same thing. She even went back and checked the FBI garage surveillance only to see nothing helpful.

Penelope grabbed the most recent offending flower and quickly made her way into her apartment. When she shut the door behind her, she locked the four recently added deadbolt locks and breathed a sigh of relief.

Penelope hated the feeling of terror that was running rampant through her body. Only after her shooting had she felt this unsafe in her own home. For months, she could barely fall asleep without checking her door and windows were locked several times. Her apartment had just been beginning to feel like her home again.

And, here it was, starting again. Just knowing that someone was repeatedly coming into her building, someone who didn't belong, sent shivers of panic up her spine. Every flower made her even more nervous and more tempted to ask someone for help.

Why white lilies, she randomly thought to herself. She didn't even like them; they were too boring, too uninteresting for her tastes. She preferred bright colors, wild shapes like alliums, birds of paradise, and peonies. If Reed knew about the flowers showing up, he would likely talk about the symbolism of white lilies. Penelope knew enough to know they symbolized purity and chastity, which didn't really describe her.

Seeing the four deadbolts on her door reminded her of the potential seriousness of the matter. She was at a loss for what she should do. She had seen enough cases through the BAU to know that behavior like this could easily escalate. How many times had she heard women tell tales that began just like this and ended in violence? Too many to count. It was imperative that she do something, but what?

At the same time, part of her felt like she was just overreacting. They were just flowers. Its not like he was threatening her, she rationalized to herself. Flowers were a symbol of affection. How silly would she feel if she got someone involved and it just turned out to be Kevin? She would never live it down if Derek heard about it.

The shrill ring of her phone suddenly broke through the heavy silence causing Penelope to let out a gasp of surprise. She fumbled through her purse as she made her way to her kitchen. Once she had her phone in her hand, a quick glance at her caller ID told her it was Derek Morgan. A sigh of relief flooded through her as she flipped her phone open.

"Hey Derek," she said, her relief obvious in her voice.

His masculine voice floated through the phone, instantly filling her with comfort. "You alright? You sound weird."

"I'm fine, hot stuff," she cooed. As much as she wanted to tell someone about the flowers and her fears, she absolutely knew she could never tell Derek. He was too protective of her to just listen. He would turn over every stone, follow any lead he could find until he found out who was behind it. And once he did find out, he would overreact.

Even if it turned out to be something, she couldn't tell him. Her mind, once again, flashed back to her shooting. People had died, she had almost died. That policeman had been shot because he was trying to protect her. She still couldn't get over the guilt of that. No, she would never tell Derek about the flowers. She would handle it herself.

"Okay." He didn't sound like he believed her but he dropped it. "Listen, what are you up to tonight?"

She had been planned on having a few glasses of wine, taking a long bubble bath and watching a chick flick, until she found the flower. Now she wasn't too sure she wanted to be in her apartment. "I haven't decided yet," she eventually said.

"I was planning on heading out to get a few drinks." His smile came through in his voice and it brought a smile to her face. "Feel like coming with?"

Penelope pondered the offer. She hadn't been out in a long time. She had been working long hours lately in the hope of finally catching up with the multitude of paperwork that had been piling up and by the time she got home, she just crashed. And alcohol would be a wonderful way to drown her worries. "Sure," she said.

"Great. I'll pick you up in an hour."

That would give her enough time to take a quick shower and grab something to eat. "See you then."

Penelope looked at the lily for a moment before throwing it into the garbage. She deserved this night out. She would drink, have fun with her best friend and forget this whole thing.

A/N: What do you think? Do you love it? Hate it? Let me know.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you for all your reviews! You have no idea how important they are to me! I also want to say thanks forgiving my newest story a chance. I hope it lives up to all your expectations!

The bar was packed, as had been expected. There was hardly a bar in the area that was empty on a Friday night, but this particular bar was popular and always filled to the brim with people. It was one of the things Penelope loved about coming to this bar. Sitting everyday alone in her office could get lonely and seeing what she saw, hearing what she heard could easily make her lose hope of humanity. Coming to a jam packed bar made her feel good, alive and happy again. The bar's popularity stemmed from the great live music constantly filing the room and Penelope couldn't help but start moving the second the music reached their ears.

As usual, as soon as they walked through the door, eyes swiveled towards Derek. He looked good in his t-shirt and tight dark jeans. Most guys couldn't pull tight jeans off without looking sad and pathetic but Derek made them look good. Then again, Derek could make footie pajamas look good. Penelope was filled was the familiar sense of pride that she was walking in with arguably the most attractive man in the bar. Even though they were just friends, Penelope couldn't help but bask in the jealousy she saw in the eyes of many of the women in the bar. It felt good to be the girl all the other girls wanted to be for once.

The only downfall to the bar being so packed was that there was the inevitable pushing and knocking against other people. To keep from getting separated, Derek took Penelope's hand as he led her into a throng of people to get closer to the bar and set of tables strewn about the room.

Much to her great relief Derek recognized some friends who had a table and led her over to join them. When the bar got as packed as it was now, it could sometimes be impossible to find an empty table.

As Derek made his rounds saying hi to everyone at the table, Penelope heard her name called. She turned and one of the men at the table who she recognized pulled her into a hug as he said, "Haven't seen you in months."

She smiled as she pulled away, "Hey Jones." She'd first met the young man about two years ago. He was the younger brother of a college friend of Derek's. And he was attractive, as in drop dead gorgeous attractive. He looked like a younger version of Derek, only a bit less toned and muscled. Penelope thought the sexiest part about him was his shoulder length dreads. Nothing made her heart twitter like originality.

"I haven't been out in months," she explained. It was true. The last time she had gone out drinking with Derek had been before she broke up with Kevin. She used to go out with him at least twice a month but she had been trying to spend less time with Derek in an attempt to salvage her relationship with Kevin. It obviously hadn't worked. In fact, spending all that time with Kevin without the release of complaining to Derek had driven her crazy and probably contributed to the break up.

Jones' eyes flashed with enthusiasm. "I think that's a reason for a celebratory shot."

Derek's arm slinked around Penelope's waist as he came back from greeting his friends around the table. "Did I just hear that we're doing shots?" he said, his smile wide on his face. There were few things he enjoyed more than drinking with his friends.

"In celebration of Penelope finally coming out with you again," Jones answered, his smile matching Derek's.

"I'll drink to that." Derek chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "I've missed you coming out, baby girl." Penelope smiled gratefully and kissed his cheek; Derek really was sweet. He could have his pick of all the women in the world and he always made time for her, always made time to make her feel special.

"Because it's a drink to you, Penelope," Jones said with a sexy smile, "drinks are on me."

Derek rolled his eyes as he shook his head and Penelope playfully elbowed him. "Thanks."

They both watched as Jones went to the bar to order shots for them. Derek turned back to Penelope. "You know he's had the hots for you for years now, right?"

She laughed; as sexy as she thought Jones was there was no way any was ever going to develop between them. "He's like ten years younger than me," she said. "I'm not really into the whole cougar thing."

He shrugged with a smile. "A lot of women are going after younger men these days, baby girl."

Penelope winked wickedly as she said, "I prefer older men. You know, the ones pushing forty."

"Ouch, mama." He placed his hand playfully over his heart. "Forty ain't that old."

She didn't answer, instead opting for a coy smile as Jones returned with their shots and beers for each of them. They each took one. Penelope held her up to cheers before downing it. She instantly recognized the harsh burn of cheap whisky. She fought to hold back a cough. It had been awhile since she had done a shot and almost immediately she could feel the alcohol coursing through her veins. It felt nice.

"This is just what I needed," Penelope said with a smile.

Derek's eyebrows rose critically. "Yea? Why do you say that?"

"The usual. Stress at work. The break up. You know." She took a swig from her beer, aware that Derek would be profiling her as she answered the question. In spite of the fact that he had promised to never profile her, he still did constantly.

"Is that all?" he pushed.

She flashed him a smile. "Well that plus the fact that I didn't get my dose of Derek Morgan this week." The BAU team had been in Maine for the past week and half and had just arrived home late Thursday night.

Derek chuckled. "That's why were here. For you to get your weekly Derek Morgan fix." He took another sip of his beer, waiting for Jones to be engrossed in a conversation with a pretty girl before looking at her again. "Nothing else bothering you?" he asked quietly. Penelope raised her eyebrow curiously. It wasn't like Derek to push her this hard. He noticed her reaction and shrugged in response. "You've seemed…" He paused as he searched for a word. "Distracted," he said finally.

Penelope chuckled nervously. She had been distracted since the lilies started appearing and deservedly so. She prided herself on not letting her personal life impact her work, but this past week, she'd been a mess. The case in Maine had involved women being stalked and murdered by a group of men. As she had worked on the case, her mind had wondered often to the lilies and what they meant. She suddenly realized Derek was waiting for her response. "I'm on a hunt for a new man," she said with a smile. "Finding a good one takes a lot of time and energy."

"I can't say I'm surprised." He didn't push her any longer.

"Why do you say that?" Penelope nursed her beer as she waited for his response.

"You spend all your time with me. It's going to be nearly impossible to find someone to live up to this expectation," he said with a laugh.

She let out a short burst of laughter before kissing his cheek and saying, "You always know how to make me feel better."

Two shots and several beers later, Penelope was feeling a lot better about everything. The stress of work had melted away as the alcohol coursed through her veins. She was no longer worried about the mysterious lilies. Two beers back she had entirely forgotten about them. She suddenly let out a loud hiccup, interrupting Derek's conversation with a friend of his.

He turned to her, suddenly realizing how much she had to drink. "Baby girl, I think its time to take you home," he said.

Penelope was about to protest but when she opened her mouth, her head started spinning. She suddenly realized that she must be much drunker than she thought. She didn't remember having all that many drinks, but she hadn't been drinking at all lately. She turned to Derek and nodded, "I think that's a good idea."

Derek said a quick good bye to his friends and led her out of the bar. "I'm sorry," Penelope said. "I didn't mean to drink this much."

He wrapped his arm tighter around her waist and leaned her closer to him. "It's my fault, sweetheart. I should have been paying more attention."

Penelope decided to ignore him and concentrate on walking and keeping the spinning in her head under control.

As they came into view of Derek's car, a flash of white against the black SUV caught her eye. All of her worries and fears that had been washed away by the alcohol suddenly came rushing back. Her pulse began to race as fear ran rampant through her veins. No, she thought. It couldn't be. As she looked again, she swore that it looked like a white flower. No, she thought again. Not here. It was impossible. It was probably just a flyer and in the distance, it looked like one. Penelope shook her head. She was drunk; it was obviously just a figment of her imagination.

Derek led her closer to the car, not noticing Penelope's fearful reaction. The car came closer and closer into view. With each step, her stomach fluttered nervously. Penelope closed her eyes, not wanting to see it. Not wanting to know if whoever it was had followed her here.

When they finally reached the car, she heard Derek say, "What's this?" She slowly opened her eyes. When her gaze resting on the item in his hand, she blanched. A white lily. Exactly the same as the others. As the realization of what this meant hit her, she turned to the side and puked.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I love all of the reviews and story alerts! Keep them coming and I will keep writing.

As the waves of nausea rolled over her, Derek dropped the lily and pulled back her hair, rubbing her back to comfort her as he did. The vomiting quickly subsided and Penelope slowly stood up as she self consciously wiped her mouth. "Sorry," she mumbled. She glanced at the lily, shining stark white against the pavement, and terror ran rampant through her veins for the second time that night. Tears began to well in her eyes, threatening to fall down her cheeks.

Derek handed her a water bottle from his car and she took it gratefully. Her mouth tasted of vomit and cheap alcohol. She took as swig, swishing it about her mouth and spitting it out as Derek asked, "You okay, baby girl?"

She nodded, still eyeing the offensive lily. "Too much to drink." She still felt nauseous but it had nothing to do with the alcohol, not that she was willing to tell Derek that.

"I feel horrible," he said with a grimace. Penelope knew that he felt bad for letting her drink so much; however, she was willing to let him feel guilty if it kept him from knowing the truth. "Let's get you home." He helped her into the passenger seat and ran to the other side to get in. As he put his seat belt on, he turned to Penelope, a concerned look on his face, "If you feel the need to puke, just let me know."

She nodded, barely registering what he had said. Even from inside the car, she could see the lily lying abandoned on the ground and she was unable to take her eyes off of it. She'd never found one while she was out before. They'd only been on her car at work and at her door, and never when she was with someone else. She had made the plans only this afternoon, which meant that whoever left the lily was probably following her. To the BAU, this would probably be considered an escalation of some sort.

As terrified as she was, she tried to rationalize it. Maybe it was just a coincidence. And it was on Derek's car, not hers. There was no way to know for sure it was connected with her. Several tears fell down her cheeks as she realized that there was no way it wasn't connected. A wave of hysteria began to rise in her, but Penelope pushed it away. It could still be Kevin, she thought. As long that was still a possibility, she could remain calm and wouldn't fall into a panic.

Penelope was shocked when the reached her apartment. She had been lost in her thoughts and hadn't even noticed the car was moving. Derek helped her out of the car and with his arm around her waist, led her up to apartment.

As soon as they entered into her apartment, Penelope turned and locked all four deadbolts with gusto. "Those are new," Derek commented with a pointed look.

She still wasn't ready to tell Derek about the lilies and joked his concern away. "You can never be too safe," she said with a smile.

He raised his eyebrow skeptically but didn't say anything more about it. Instead he nodded towards Penelope's bedroom, "Go get your pajamas on. I'll bring you a glass of water."

She nodded and did as he said. Instead of finding an actual set of pajamas, she slipped on an oversized t-shirt and a pair of shorts that she found on her floor. It wasn't as if she needed to look good for anyone. Running her hands over her face, she fought the wave of nausea that rolled over her. What was taking Derek so long?

As soon as she exited her bedroom, she saw him standing in her kitchen holding something. As she walked closer, she noticed that he wasn't moving which was weird. "Derek?" she called, concerned. Had he cut himself on something?

He turned and Penelope saw that he was holding the lily from this afternoon in his hand. His brow was twisted in confusion and his eyes narrowed suspiciously. He must have seen it in the garbage, Penelope realized, and then connected it with the lily on his car. "What's this?" he asked slowly.

She licked her lips nervously. She didn't want to get Derek involved. She didn't want anything to get worse. "It's a lily," she said with a teasing smile. "Just began you have an overflow of testosterone doesn't mean you can't know a little about flowers, hot stuff," she teased, hoping to distract him.

Derek glared at her. "You know what I mean," he said harshly.

"No, I don't," she lied. She didn't need this. Derek couldn't get involved; this was her problem, no one else's. Especially Derek.

He walked closer and held the lily up. "Where did you get this?"

Penelope looked away to avoid his piercing, accusing eyes. She felt like a bitch lying to him but he didn't need to be involved. "A friend."

"Did a friend leave that lily on my car tonight?" She glanced back at him and his gaze bore into her. He looked so angry, so intense. "Penelope?" he asked sharply.

Her eyes shifted nervously. "How could I possibly know who left it?" she lied. As much as she wished it was a random incident, she knew the same man who put the lily on Derek's car was leaving them for her.

"Penelope, how many times have you gotten these flowers?" He didn't look angry so much as upset, nervous maybe.

She tried once again to dissuade him. "What are you talking about, Derek?"

"Penelope, a flower mysteriously appears on my car while we're out together. A flower that makes you to puke. And then I find the exact same type of flower in your trash. You don't throw out perfectly new flowers if they're from a friend." She smiled with the shake of her head and as she opened her mouth to deny it, he interrupted her. "Don't lie to me, Penelope. What's going on?"

She sighed; she obviously couldn't keep it from him any longer. He knew something was going on and the more she denied it, the angrier he would be. She walked over to her couch and took a seat, refusing to look at Derek. She didn't want to see his face as she said, "The one on your car was the seventh."

"Seven?" he exclaimed loudly causing Penelope to flinch. Anger was running hot through his voice. "When did this start?" he asked as he took a seat on the couch next to her.

She glanced at him and saw that he didn't look angry. He looked hurt and upset making her feel even worse for keeping it from him. "Three weeks ago," she said with a sigh. "The first two were on my car and then they started showing up just outside my apartment door."

"And you didn't say anything? Penelope, you know better."

The scolding only made her feel worse. "Derek, I don't need a lecture," she said giving him a look. "Besides it's probably nothing."

"Nothing?" he exclaimed again. "It's not nothing when someone just leaves you flowers everywhere you go." He grabbed Penelope's arm and turned her towards him. "You know that," he accused.

She shook her head. "Maybe it's just Kevin."

"As much as I don't like him, he's not the type to do this." He shook his head. "We've both seen more than enough murder cases that started with things like this. I can't believe you didn't say anything."

She looked down, ashamed. "I didn't want to get everyone involved."

He took her face in his hands and slowly made her look at him. "I'm not talking about everyone, Penelope." Looking in his eyes, Penelope realized just how hurt he was that she hadn't said anything. They just stared at each other until Derek finally said, "I can't believe you didn't tell me."

She didn't say anything for a moment. He looked so hurt that it nearly broke her heart. "I just don't want anyone to overact," she said softly.

Derek sighed and took his hands away from her face, rubbing them over his own. "We'll check the surveillance tapes in the morning. See if it is Kevin."

"I already checked," she said quickly.

He smiled. "That's my girl. Can I see?"

Penelope walked over to her laptop and pulled up the saved video. Standing there, watching the hooded figure wave at her again brought another wave of nausea. She turned away as Derek replayed to video; she'd seen it more than enough times. As the video ended, Derek turned to her. "Penelope, this is a problem."

"I know," she finally admitted, both to herself and to him. She couldn't deny the magnitude of it anymore. Not with all of the evidence staring her in the face. She looked away as tears began to silently stream down her face. She felt so alone, so vulnerable. After the shooting she had vowed that she would never again feel like this. But now, here she was.

Derek saw the tears and pulled her into an embrace. He sighed and placed a consoling kiss on her forehead. "It's late," he said finally. "We can talk about this in the morning."

She nodded and pulled away from him. "Um, Derek?"

He brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "Yea?"

"Would you mind spending the night here?" she asked. Even with the newly installed locks, she didn't feel safe. She didn't want to be alone. She knew if she went to bed without someone else in her apartment, she would never be able to fall asleep.

"Of course," he said. "I'm not leaving until you tell me to." Penelope smiled. As much as he denied it, Derek was a hero. And he always would be, at least to her.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I love your reviews! They make me want to keep writing and writing and writing. I hope you like this update as much as I do.

Penelope awoke the next morning to the ever tantalizing smell of coffee and bacon. She walked into her kitchen to see Derek standing shirtless over her stove and her mouth dropped. She'd only seen him shirtless a few times when they went to the beach, but he looked damn good right now. It should be a sin for him to wear a shirt all the time, she thought.

"Mmm," she purred as she took a seat at her table. "I could get used to this." A sexy man cooking for her; what more could a girl ask for?

Derek chuckled without turning around. "Don't get too used to it, momma."

She saw that he was making bacon and raised a critical eyebrow. "As much as I love this view, and trust me, I do love it, you should put a shirt on; you're gunna get splattered by the bacon grease." Not that she would particularly mind tending his wounds, she thought playfully to herself.

He ignored her as he handed her a plate filed with bacon, eggs, and toast. "Eat up," he said as he gathered a plate of his own.

The bite of scrambled eggs which she put into her mouth burst with flavor causing her to practically moan her appreciation. Eggs had never tasted so good. "I'm locking you up in my closet and only letting you out to force you to cook for me," she said with a smirk. He chuckled as he sat next to her with a plate of his own.

Breakfast was filled with conversation and jokes. By the time they were finished, Penelope's stomach hurt from laughing so much. She'd missed him, she suddenly realized. Before Kevin they had been inseparable, hanging out every chance they got. While dating Kevin, she saw Derek much less than she wanted. She was happy around Derek, she thought as she picked up their finished plates.

She placed them in the sink and when she turned around, Derek was leaning against the table. The look on his face was one of expectation and Penelope remembered that he had wanted to talk. As if he was reading her mind, Derek said, "We need to talk about last night."

A sigh fought to escape through her mouth but Penelope pushed it back. He was only trying to help, she reminded herself. "What about it?" she asked with a sad smile. She'd already told him essentially everything. There wasn't anything else to talk about as far as she was concerned.

"That was the first time he left a flower for you away from your home or car?" he asked as he crossed his arms in front of him.

His body language made Penelope feel as though she was being interrogated by him. It reminded her of why she didn't want to tell him in the first place. "It's also the first time he left two in one day," she said eventually.

A scolding frown formed on his face. "You realize he's escalating?"

She shrugged but didn't answer. He was scolding her and it pissed her off. She hadn't asked him to get involved. He was the one who decided to involve himself in the situation and he had no right to scold her or judge her.

Apparently oblivious to her irritation, Derek pushed. "What was your plan?"

"I don't know, Derek," she snapped petulantly. "I didn't exactly have a plan." She crossed her own arms in front of her, mirroring Derek's stance.

Realizing how frustrated she was getting, Derek sighed and took a seat again at her table. "You need a plan to handle this. Does the building's owner know about this?"

Penelope took the seat next to him as she said, "I didn't tell him about the lilies but he knows someone is getting in." The owner had actually approached her to ask her if she knew who the man was, having seen it on the surveillance tapes. After being reassured that she didn't know him, he was supposedly in the process of finding out how the man who getting in the building. At least that was the story a week ago.

"We should get the team involved. They'd be more than willing to help." He said as he reached for his phone.

She grabbed his arm and exclaimed, "Derek, no. I don't want them involved." I didn't want you involved, she added silently.

A look of disbelief crossed his face. "Why not?"

"I just can't be the victim again," she said softly. "I can't have you all see me like that. Not again." Having the whole team profile her and walk on eggshells around her had driven her insane. It had taken weeks for everyone to treat her normally, and even then, things were never quite the same with some people, with Derek.

"Penelope, no one thought of you as a victim," he said with a shake of his head.

"You did!" she exclaimed, suddenly upset again. "Everything changed between us after that." Before the shooting, they had been so close, so flirty. She'd even thought that there was a chance for something romantic to develop between them before. But after, he treated her different and it nearly broke her heart.

He shook his head again. "What? What are you talking about?" He legitimately looked confused by her accusation which only further irritated her.

"Nothing," she said. This was something that she had put behind her and accepted. Ever since he had seen her as a victim, there was nothing romantic between Derek and her. She'd become someone he needed to look after, rather, than someone he wanted to be with. As upset as she had been at the time, she had accepted the change and moved on; there was no reason to bring it back up now.

"Penelope, if anything changed between us after the shooting it was because you started dating Lynch," Derek said suddenly.

What? That was crazy, she thought angrily. "I started dating Kevin after things changed between us," she argued. After he had made it clear that, yes, he did love her, but only as a friend. And even then, things had been casual with Lynch for several months until she was sure there was nothing between her and Derek. And what did he mean _if_?

There was a moment of tension until he spoke. "What changed?" he asked, his voice unusually closed.

"Nothing," she repeated, turning away from him. She didn't want to have this conversation. She'd accepted it and it was behind them. There was no reason to have it come up now, especially with everything that was going on.

There was silence as they both were lost in thoughts. Finally, Derek said, "So you think it could be Lynch trying to win you back or something?"

Penelope turned back to him, with a grimace. "If it's not him…." She trailed off, unwilling to finish her sentence and admit the full severity of the problem.

"If it's not him, then it's someone else and I will find them. I promise." He took one of her hands in his and squeezed it reassuringly.

She nodded, "I've been meaning to ask him, but I just never get the nerve to." What if he said no? What if it wasn't him? She didn't know what she would do if that were the case so she had always lost her courage to ask as soon as she got to his door.

Derek shook his head. "No, it'll be better if I ask him."

She snorted and held back a laugh. The only way Kevin would talk to Derek would be through a locked door. "He hates you."

"Trust me, baby girl, the feeling is mutual."

Penelope never understood Derek's hatred of Kevin. It was easy to understand why Kevin didn't like Derek; he was jealous of how close Derek and Penelope were. But Derek she never understood. Kevin never treated her poorly. He never hurt her. She'd always complained about him to Derek but it was the usual couple arguments, nothing too unusual. They'd only broken up because they realized they were better friends than lovers so there was no reason there for Derek to hate him.

"I'll talk to him on Monday," he said.

She smiled and squeezed his hand back. "Thank you, my noir hero." She honestly did appreciate him helping. At least now, there was someone else to share her worries and fears with.

He leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek, "Anything for you, momma. Now relax because we are going to have an amazing, calm weekend."

"We?" she asked with a confused smile.

"I told you. I'm not leaving until you tell me to." He leaned closer, "And something tells me, you would rather me say for awhile."

She smiled. He always could read her like a book. "Are you sure? I don't want you to change your plans."

He gave her an unreadable look. "Baby girl, I would change all my plans to keep you happy."

Penelope blushed. The way he was looking at her as he said it implied something more. "No need for all that," she said with a soft smile.

Derek suddenly pulled her into a hard hug, shocking Penelope. "Baby girl, I'll take care of all of this. I promise."

She smile and embraced him back, suddenly realizing how relieved she was that he knew. For the first time since the whole situation began, she finally felt like it would eventually be okay and the only reason for that was Derek.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Next update might take a little longer than I want. I start working full time this week. Anyway, don't forget to review after you finish reading. Reviews are like my herion.

Penelope irritably fingered the last bit of paperwork. Why did it always take all of Monday to catch up on paperwork that piled up over the weekend? She had left on Friday feeling relatively caught up but apparently it had been a busy weekend. When she arrived at work this morning, she had almost cried when she realized how much work awaited her. She barely had a chance to breathe much less take a break all day.

At least the amount of paperwork had kept her from dwelling too much on her problems. Thanks to Derek, she had not really thought about them the rest of the weekend. They had spent Saturday watching movies and vegging out on popcorn, pizza, and alcohol. To her everlasting happiness, Derek had stayed Saturday night, claiming that he could not possibly drive with all of the alcohol he had consumed. Penelope knew just as well as he did that it was just an excuse but she did not mind.

Similarly, Sunday had been spent in her apartment, but instead of relaxing, Derek had helped her with her weekly apartment scouring. Not surprisingly, Derek was absolutely horrid at cleaning and really spent the day getting in her way. He had ended up spending Sunday night at her apartment as well and drove her into work on Monday morning.

As much as Penelope appreciated Derek spending the weekend with her, cheering her up like he did before Kevin, it had brought up long hidden feelings. Having him around her twenty-four seven made her wonder about what could have been had the shooting never happened. How close they could have been. She felt so safe when he was around, so whole. More than once she had found herself imagining what it would be like were they in a relationship and living together. They'd fallen asleep together on her couch on Saturday and when she woke up next to him on Sunday, she had nearly cried. It was just too hard to have him so close but not be able to have him for herself.

A knock on her office door brought her suddenly out of her thoughts. She glanced at the clock, wondering who it was so close to the end of the day. Hopefully they weren't bringing her anymore work to do. "Come in," she called sweetly, glancing behind her towards the door as she did.

Derek stuck his head in the door causing a smile to appear on her face. He was probably the only person she would have let in her office so late it the day. "Baby girl, you got a minute?"

She swiveled around in her chair with a smirk. "For you, most definitely." He looked rather scruffy after a weekend without shaving. He'd had a go bag in his car with several changes of clothes, but he'd forgotten a razor. Not that she minded; personally, she thought he looked sexy with scruff.

He walking in, shutting the door behind him and leaned against her table next to her. "How are you feeling?"

"Good," she said. "I spent the weekend with this gorgeous sex god. It was very relaxing," she teased, a sexual smirk playing on her face.

He chuckled. "Oh? Should I be jealous?"

"Probably," she said saucily. Their teasing had gotten quite sexual over the weekend and Penelope had no problem continuing down that road.

Derek chuckled again and then was quiet. Penelope looked at him curiously; he was rarely quiet around her and the fact that he was now didn't bode well for her. So much for the flirty banter, she thought. He cleared his throat nervously, "Remember how I was going to talk to Lynch today?"

Her heart began to quicken nervously as she nodded. Even though she had been swamped all day, more than once her mind drifted to Kevin and Derek. As she waited for him to continue, she felt a familiar wave of nausea roll over her; the look on his face promised that whatever he was going to say wasn't what she wanted to hear. Part of her wanted to cover her ears so she wouldn't have to hear what she knew Derek was going to say, but she knew she couldn't. She needed to hear the truth.

He reached and brushed a hair behind her ear, leaving his hand there to cradle her face. "He isn't here, Penelope," he said softly. "He's on vacation visiting his mom, in Florida. He's been there for over a week."

Meaning it couldn't possibly be him. She looked away, her heart sinking to her stomach. She'd known. She'd known it wasn't him. It wasn't in his behavior to act like that and the man on surveillance looked nothing like him. Even though she'd known, she had hoped and prayed it was him, because if it wasn't him, then it was a stranger. A stranger who could be anyone she saw on the streets, anyone who walked by her. Oh god, she suddenly thought, what if it was someone she actually knew? Someone she saw on a daily basis, someone she usually overlooked. Tears welled in her eyes and began silently streaming down her face. She'd never thought she would ever feel this helpless and vulnerable again. "Oh," she finally said as she stared at the ground.

He took one of her hands in his and stroked it in slow circles with his thumb, asking softly, "Are you okay?"

She took a tissue from the box on her desk and dabbed at her eyes, careful not to smear her makeup more than necessary. "Yea, yea, I'm fine," she squeaked.

Taking her face in his hands and turning her slowly to face him, he said, "Penelope, I promise I will find out who is doing this." He kissed her forehead in a reassuring gesture. "I will do everything I possibly can until we figure this out."

It was the exact same thing she'd heard him say to victims everywhere. It was happening again, she thought. She was becoming the victim….again. For some odd reason, the idea that Derek saw her as a victim hurt more than angered her. "I'm fine, Derek," she said sadly.

He frowned, still rubbing her hands. Even though her eyes were lowered and he couldn't see them, the tears from her face were falling onto his hands. "Baby, are you okay?" he asked once more.

She took a deep shaky breath and sighed, "No." She looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. "Derek if it's not him, I don't…I can't…." she said as she turned away to grab another tissue.

Derek knelt down beside her and pulled her to him. "Listen to me. I will not let anything happen to you, do you understand? You're my girl and I am going to take care of this," he whispered into her hair.

"I just want to go home," she said with a sniff. There was no way she could stay at work now. She would not be able to focus at all and if anyone saw her looking like this, they would know something was up and would ask questions. One thing she was certain of was that she didn't want anyone else involved.

He stood and helped her up. "I'll take you home. It's been slow today; no one will miss us."

Penelope nodded and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself. She pulled out her compact, afraid of what she would find. To her surprise, she didn't look too bad. "One of the pluses of water proof mascara," she said with a weak smile.

Derek flashed her a smile. "You look great, baby girl." He helped her gather her things and led her out the door and to his car.

The drive home was silent. Penelope was lost in thoughts and Derek seemed to be focusing on driving. When they reached her place, she jumped out without waiting for him to open the door. "You don't have to walk me up. You've done enough," she said. In reality, she just wanted to be left alone. She didn't want him to see her cry anymore and she definitely planned on crying tonight.

He brushed aside her words with the shake of his head. "I left some shirts that I need to grab."

Penelope knew he wouldn't give up without a fight and decided to let him walk her up. As they reached the door to her apartment, she suddenly realized her door was ajar. She was sure she had locked it behind her before they left in the morning. "Derek," she whispered, pointing at the door.

Derek stopped and immediately drew his gun. Penelope had a momentary flashback to when Battle had tried to kill her in her apartment and she began to hyperventilate. Derek turned to her, "Stay here. Don't move."

"Derek, no." She reached for him arm but it was too late. He ignored her warning and slipped into the apartment leaving Penelope behind to wait and worry.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I hope everyone had a great 4th! Next update should be up by Thursday.

As Penelope watched Derek disappear into her apartment, she stood in the hallway fighting the urge to hyperventilate. It wouldn't do if any of her neighbors came out of their homes to see her having a panic attack in the hallway.

Seconds slowly ticked by slipping into unbearably long minutes. There was silence. If Penelope didn't know better, she would think the building was empty. The quiet made her even more nervous. What if the silence meant that Derek was hurt? She had never heard her apartment building this silent.

It felt as thought she had been waiting in the hallway for hours. She couldn't take it anymore. After a quick glance behind her, ensuring that she was alone in the hallway, she slowly made her towards the door to her apartment. She slowly peeked her head through the opening and glanced around. Nothing seemed out of place, giving her apartment an eerie sense of calm. "Derek?" she whispered. No answer. She whispered louder, "Derek?" Still nothing.

Worried, Penelope pushed open the door and walked into her apartment, shutting the door softly behind her. From her entry way, she could see most of her apartment. Everything was just as she had left it that morning and Derek was nowhere in sight. The only two rooms she couldn't see were the kitchen and bedroom, which were on opposite sides of the apartment. Rationalizing that the kitchen had knives waiting for her to use to defend herself, she slowly crept towards the kitchen. As she crept, she became aware that she couldn't hear anything, even the usually loud hum of her air conditioner. Where was Derek and what was he doing?

Coming to the edge of the door leading into her kitchen, she paused, suddenly realizing that this was quite possibly the worst idea she had ever had. What if someone was actually in the kitchen? What was she going to do then? She'd taken several self defense classes at Quantico taught by Derek, but how much would actually prove useful were she attacked? Deciding to go into the kitchen anyway, she tightened her grip on her purse, hoping to use it as a weapon.

She closed her eyes and slowly began counting down. Three, she thought. Two. Two and a half. Two and one fourth. One. She quickly stuck her head around the corner, bag held high. To her relief, there was nothing. It looked the same as it did every day, albeit a bit messier. She quickly walked through the kitchen, opening her drawers to find a knife. She wasn't big on cooking and under the pressure, she couldn't remember where she had stashed her knives. Before she could find one, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Instincts kicked in and Penelope whirled around, her purse flying, only to hit Derek squarely in the jaw.

"Oh, god," she said as he grabbed her hand to stop her from swinging again. "I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

"Penelope," he said angrily. "I told you to wait in the hallway. What are you doing in here?"

She pulled him into a tight hug, ecstatic to see him safe and unharmed. "I got worried."

He pushed her away from his body, still angry. "What if someone was in here? You could have been killed," he scolded.

She didn't say anything for a moment, suddenly embarrassed by his reprimand. Her embarrassment quickly turned to anger. She didn't need to explain herself to him, she thought. What she did was her business. "Well? What did you find? Was someone here?" she asked finally.

Derek seemed to momentarily forget how angry he was with her. "They were already gone by the time we got here, but someone was here," he said with a grimace.

Penelope felt violated. Someone was inside her home; someone was forcing himself into her life. She felt numb. How could this happen? Why was this happening? She wrapped her arms around herself as a bone deep chill ran through her. "How do you know?" she asked quietly.

"Come see."

Taking her hand in his, he led her into her bedroom. Penelope's mouth dropped at what she saw. All of the clothing that Derek had ever left at her house was on her bed. Shredded. T-shirts, sweatshirts, and pants all slashed into strips were laying in a heaping pile in the middle of her bed. Her hand flew to her mouth to hold in the wave of nausea that rolled through her.

In order to find Derek's clothes, whoever it was had to have looked in drawers, her closet, and her laundry basket. One glance around her room told her than none of her clothing had been moved. Every article of her clothing in the closet was hanging just as it was when she left, all of her laundry was in the basket, and she knew that if she opened her drawers, everything would be in its place.

"Derek," she whispered. It was apparent even to her unskilled eyes that this had been a message to Derek to keep away. Oh god, she thought again. What if this chased Derek away? What if her stalker hurt Derek? She had known it would be a bad idea to get Derek involved. She would never forgive herself if anything happened to him because of her.

Seemingly reading her mind Derek said quietly, "This doesn't change anything, Penelope. I'm not stopping."

"This is why I didn't want anyone involved," she whispered as she shook her head, still unable to get over the shock.

The blood began to slowly drain from her face and Penelope suddenly felt lightheaded. Derek noticed. "Penelope, are you alright? Maybe you should sit down." He placed his arm around her and led her out of the room.

She let him walk her to her couch and sit her down. As he knelt down in front of her, he took her hands in his. "Why?" she whispered to herself. "Why is this happening?" Again, she added silently.

"Baby girl, this has nothing to do with you," Derek said desperately. "It's all this guy, its all in his head."

She shook her head, unwilling to hear his explanations. "Derek, I'm not one of your victims for you to save. Just stop it and let me think," she suddenly snapped.

He didn't say anything for a few seconds but Derek never could keep his opinions to himself. Ignoring her irritation, he said, "We need to call the police."

"No," Penelope exclaimed. "No police. Not again." Was he not listening to a word she said, she thought.

His voice was calm and soothing which only put Penelope more on edge. "Penelope, you can't handle this by yourself. This guy broke into your home. You could get yourself killed without help." She didn't say anything and stubbornly looked away. Derek shook his head and suddenly exclaimed, "What other signs do you need?"

It was true and she knew it. She should call the police. Oh how she wanted to call the police, but she couldn't. A police officer had died trying to protect her. How could she live with herself if something like that happened to her again? She wasn't worth the deaths of others. She suddenly glanced at Derek. "You're law enforcement," she said meaningfully.

He shook his head, "Baby girl." He stopped and sighed, knowing he couldn't force her to call the local police. "Fine, we won't call the police. But only if we get the team involved."

She vehemently shook her head, "No. No go. Not happening."

He stroked her hands with his, trying to calm her down so she would be easier to manage. "Babe, we all love you. If they knew you were going through this, they would want to help."

"No," she said meanly.

"It's either the police or the team," Derek said calmly, knowing he had her backed into a corner.

Penelope looked away, debating. She didn't want the team involved. They would worry about her instead of focusing on a more important case. She knew she could at least downplay the whole thing to the police and no one else needed to get involved. Finally she said, "The police. But were not telling them about the lilies."

"You have to," he said with the shake of his head. "How do you expect this to end if the police aren't involved? Do you want to get killed?"

"I'm not going to get killed," she said as determination set on her face. "You won't let me."

Derek hung his head, defeated. "No, I won't let you get killed." He took a deep breath to calm himself. "Fine, we'll do it your way. We won't tell the cops about the lilies, but you have to do something for me."

"What?"

"You're moving in with me until this gets resolved. I don't want you out of my sight unless you're in your office. I love you and I'm not going to let you get hurt."

She knew better than to argue. Instead she took out her cell phone and dialed the police.


End file.
